Make Your Business Survive and Thrive!: 100+ Proven Marketing Methods to Help You Beat the Odds and Build a Successful Small or Home-Based Enterprise

369 Pages·2006·12.62 MB·English

by  Priscilla Y. Huff

huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page i
Praise for
Make Your Business Survive and Thrive
“Every entrepreneur should add this book to their business plan. With Huff’s
wise guidance and practical tips, along with success secrets culled from inter-
views with hundreds of established business owners, it offers everything needed
to build a profitable venture.”
—Ellen H. Parlapiano and Patricia Cobe, Founders of
MompreneursOnline.com and Authors of
Mompreneurs®: A Mother’s Practical Step-by-Step
Guide to Work-at-Home Success
“This awesome book helps take the guesswork out of starting, building, and main-
taining your small or home-based business. It is packed with thousands of re-
sources and literally takes you by the hand like your own personal coach. Kudos.”
—Kim Essenmacher, Marketing & Small Business Consultant,
Founder of SmallBizpreneur’s Network,
www.smallbizpreneurs.com
“Just when you are relieved your business survived its first year and don’t know
where to turn to take it to the next level, Priscilla Huff is here to save the day! In
Make Your Business Survive and Thrive,Priscilla has written a must-have mar-
keting manual for every small business owner. With this brilliant book in hand,
you no longer have to spend time on research—you can continue working in and
on your business, saving you hours and hours of valuable time (and money)! I
cannot wait to recommend this book to the moms in business that I work with!”
—Terilee Harrison, Entrepreneur’s Coach, Speaker,
Radio Show Host, and author of The Business Mom
Guide Book: More Life, Less Overwhelm for Mom
Entrepreneurs,www.TheBusinessMom.com.
“Priscilla puts it all together for us in one handy resource, all the things business
owners will and do encounter along the way. A must read for anyone thinking
of, or in the beginning stages of business.”
—Chanin Walsh, Founder of the Bucks County Women’s
Business Forum, www.womensbusinessforum.org
“Whether you’re getting ready to start a business or if you’re in the stages of
maturity or growth, Making Your Business Survive and Thrive is a great read.
The book is chock full of anecdotes and resources from creating a brand to
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page ii
strategic public and client relations on a shoestring. Every entrepreneur should
read this book before launching a business.”
—Gina F. Rubel, Esq., President/CEO,
www.FURIARUBEL.com
“Make Your Business Survive and Thrive! is like having your own small business
consultant, ready to tackle your most pressing problems—and able to stretch
your imagination so that you can expand your ideas and success. Packed with re-
sources, this book is the one you will refer to again and again—as your business—
and you—evolve.
Priscilla Huff provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up, refocus, or
build your business—and where to find additional help from a variety of media,
from books to the Internet to audio classes. It’s like having an immediate net-
work of experts from which to draw. Survive and Thrive!is like a series of how-
to business seminars in one easy-to-follow book. I was in the midst of re-creating
my company when I found this treasure, so the chapter, ‘Define Your Venture’
proved particularly useful. With clear, effective examples and advice from those
who have been there, Priscilla inspires you to move your business idea forward,
removing the obstacle of ‘I don’t know where to go for more information. If you
are researching, refocusing, or re-energizing your small or home-based busi-
ness, Priscilla has packaged the information you need to succeed.’”
—Maria Evans, Principal, Maria Martino Evans Communications
“Information Central—the one-stop-shopping for resources and how-to informa-
tion for growing a successful business. Priscilla Huff has done all the homework
for you and packed it in between these pages so readers can get up to speed
quickly on the road to success!”
—Pamela A. Carroll, President, Carroll Consulting Group,
www.carrollconsultinggroup.com
“This book will help you overcome the challenges of finding the best ways to
market your business to achieve maximum success. Practical, easy-to-implement
ideas and techniques you can put into action immediately.”
—Jim Donovan, author, Handbook to a Happier Life,
www.jimdonovan.com
“After reading just a few chapters of Make your Business Survive and Thrive,it
became apparent to me that this book should be THE guide to resources for
anyone thinking of starting a new business venture!”
—David Y. Chomitzky, owner, Davlen Farms,
www.davlenfarms.com
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page iii
Make Your
Business
Survive
and Thrive!
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page iv
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page v
Make Your
Business
Survive
and Thrive!
100+ Proven Marketing
Methods to Help You Beat
the Odds and Build a
Successful Small or
Home-Based Enterprise
Priscilla Y. Huff
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page vi
Copyright © 2007 by Priscilla Y. Huff. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise,
except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without
either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the
appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers,
MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to
the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at
http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best
efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the
accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or
extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained
herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where
appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other
commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other
damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please
contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the
United States at [phone] or fax [phone].
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in
print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products,
visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Huff, Priscilla Y.
Make your business survive and thrive! 100+proven marketing
methods to help you beat the odds and build a successful small or
home-based enterprise / Priscilla Huff.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-05142-9 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-470-05142-6 (pbk.)
1. Home-based businesses—Management—Handbooks, manuals,
etc. 2. Small business—Marketing—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
3. Marketing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
HD62.38.H8425 2007
658.8—dc22
2006016189
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page vii
To entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, and
small and home-based business owners everywhere who supply
the lifeblood and energy to the world’s global economy.
And to my network of fellow writers, friends, and family for
their never-failing support and encouragement,
a special thanks.
huff_a01ffirs.qxd 10/9/06 3:06 PM Page viii
huff_a02ftoc.qxd 10/9/06 3:11 PM Page ix
Contents
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Introduction: Understanding the Challenges of
Entrepreneurship 1
2 Grow with a Unique Idea: Defining Your Venture 29
3 Grow with Effective Organization and the Right
Tools: Time IsMoney! 51
4 Grow with Planning: You Need to Know How and
Where Your Business Is Growing 71
5 Grow with Financing and Money Management 87
6 Grow with “A Little Help from Your Friends”: The
Best People to Help Your Business Succeed 108
7 Grow with Innovative and Low-Cost Marketing
Methods: Original and Fun Ways to Promote
Your Business 136
8 Grow through the Media and Your Contacts:
Leveraging Positive Press Coverage for Your Business 148
9 Grow with Effective Advertising Tactics: Getting
the Best Ad for Your Money 178
10 Grow with Smart Customer Relationship Management 205
ix